Grid reference | ST 15059 77656 |
Common name | Purple beech |
Common name | Copper beech |
Alternative name | Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group |
Origin | Europe |
Deciduous | Yes |
TROBI | Remarkable Tree 2017 |
Height | 23.5M May 2017 |
Girth | 498cm April 2017 |
Reference | 516 |
This tree is towards the east end of the Rock Garden.
General tree description for Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea
Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea is a purple-leaved form of the Common beech Fagus sylvatica. Its leaves are pale red in spring and mature to become deep purple. The Purple beech grows naturally, though the majority of seedlings are ordinary green or only faintly coloured, and only occasionally are deep rich purple-leaved plants produced. In cultivation these are selected.
General tree description for Fagus sylvatica
Fagus sylvatica, the Common or European beech, is a large tree, up to 40 metres tall, with smooth, silver-grey bark. Typically it has a long straight trunk supporting a huge dome and dense foliage. The leaves are up to 10cm long, oval or obovate, with a wavy margin and small irregular teeth. They emerge fresh green, becoming darker and shiny above, pale and shiny underneath, and in autumn turning a golden copper colour. Yellow-green flowers come with the leaves in early May. The male flowers are catkins, while the female flowers come in pairs of short spikes enclosed in a cup. They produce the beechnuts, small triangular nuts in spiky husks.